Illinois Wheelchair Basketball The Starting Lineup
Angelica Gal, Haley Hahn,
Elizabeth Morales, Bridget Poetker
ADV 410: Spring 2014
December 10, 2014
Table of Contents
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
STATEMENT OF PRINCIPLES/PHILOSOPHY STATEMENT
2-4
5
SUMMARY OF ORGANIZATION
6-7
SITUATION ANALYSIS
8-9
TARGET MARKET ANALYSIS
10
STRATEGIC RECOMMENDATIONS
11-12
MESSAGE RECOMMENDATIONS
13-14
SCHEDULE
15-20
BUDGET
21-22
EVALUATION PLAN
CONSULTANT BIOGRAPHIES
1 23
24-26
Executive Summary
Beginning in September 2014, Studio 1867, a student-run public relations boutique, executed an extensive amount
of secondary research and strategic planning for the Illinois’s Men’s Wheelchair Basketball team. The purpose of
our research was to strategize what external and internal impediments affect how the Illinois student body
perceives the sports team and how this perception may affect their decision to attend games.
The strategies suggested are based on the qualitative research conducted by our research team. Our research
team focused on whether the Men’s Wheelchair Basketball team was portrayed on Illinois Athletic accounts; we
then analyzed the information provided about the team on the Disability Resources and Education Services page of
the University of Illinois and their social media presence on major outlets such as YouTube, Facebook and
Instagram. The foundational findings showed that our client either had a minimal social media presence both on
their primary account as well as on the general Fighting Illini Athletic accounts. Additionally, the information that
was provided was, largely, outdated.
Prominent findings of the research illustrated that the communication tools used by the client did not communicate
key messages and missions with their intended public. Our research team concluded that a lack of concrete social
media presence and concise information correlated to the minimal fan following and fan presence at home
tournaments. While the Men’s Wheelchair Basketball team has had better seasons than other prominent athletic
teams on campus, the fact that Fighting Illini Athletics updates their Facebook account, maintains an Instagram
account, sustains their personal account, collaborates on posts with the main University of Illinois account allow
University of Illinois students to become aware of their success and games. The exceptional efforts of the Fighting
Illini Athletic communications team highlight the impact transparent and consistent information allow students to
follow the teams progress, become aware of upcoming games and overall foster a level of awareness in the minds
of students. During Matt Buchi’s visit to ADV 410: Advanced Public Relations, he expressed his concerns about the
image the intended public currently has of the team and how that preconceived notion corresponds to the amount
of fans present at home tournaments.
While the Men’s Wheelchair Basketball team is committed to rebranding their image and promoting its mission as a
both a recreational activity and a serious sport, they do not have a stable platform of communication to achieve
2 their objective. This conclusion allowed Studio 1867 to determine that the focus of our public relations plan is to not
only create more prominent awareness about the team to the student body but to also promote the Illinois
Wheelchair Basketball team as a sport that is equal to other Fighting Illini Athletics teams.
As part of Studio 1867’s plan to address the organizations issues regarding publicity efforts, we have developed a
comprehensive timeline of suggested objectives and the intended strategies and tactics that will aid in achieving
the intended objectives. Our first tactic revolves around creating interpersonal relationships between the team and
its audience by having meet and greets at games with fans. While other Fighting Illini teams are less tangible, our
client’s proactive initiative will allow them to develop a positive position in the minds of their intended public.
Secondly, as a way of increasing awareness of the Men’s Wheelchair Basketball team, Studio 1867 suggests
creating an interactive and bi-weekly YouTube channel that will consist live game feeds and in-practice trick plays
and interviews with players and coaches to address questions provided by their intended public. In addition, Studio
1867 suggests developing advertising campaigns in Huff Hall and the State Farm Center to display the team and
their tournament schedule.
Our last two recommendations will counter-address the preconceived notions the intended public has about
individuals with physical disabilities and the sport. Our first tactic would be to have the team visit classrooms in
Recreation, Sports and Tourism department to speak about the Illinois Men’s Wheelchair Basketball Team in order
to inform about the organization, promote game attendance and the team, etc. Our last tactic is intended to
increase member attendance to a home tournament. Studio 1867 believes that by inviting Tatyana McFadden, a
member of the US Paralympic team, or another member of the team, to speak with UIUC students will bring an
overwhelming amount of UIUC students to a tournament.
In order to measure the success of Studio 1867’s public relations plan, our team has developed a series of
evaluation measurements to measure our impact on the client’s issue. For measuring our action objective, we
would produce an audit report that would analyze the trend of new followers on social media platforms and employ
Google Analytics to measure page visits and locations before and after the implementation of the tactic. In regards
to measuring the awareness objective, our research team would conduct a post-tournament surveys aimed at
determining publics current perception of the team and the likelihood of them becoming committed fans. In order to
measure the presence of fans at tournaments after the implementation of arena posters, Studio 1867 will rely on
3 observational measurements to analyze the number of fans at tournaments before and after the implementation of
the public relations plan.
4 Statement of Principles/Philosophy Statement
Studio 1867 believes an interpersonal and transparent approach will effectively address our clients issue. Our
strategists believe that by maintaining consistent and concrete social media accounts as well as fostering a
tangible relationship between fans and team members will increase team awareness as well as fan attendance at
home tournament games. The approachable and charismatic rebranding of the team will allow the intended public
to see the team not as a division of the Disability Resources and Education Services office but as a legitimate
sector of Fighting Illini Athletics. Our philosophy at Studio 1867 is that in order to really make an impact on
consumers in the nano-second changing 21st century is to cater to the humanistic aspect of our clients and their
intended consumers.
We believe in order to fully garner reciprocal relationships, we as practitioners need to be at the forefront of
denouncing unethical campaigns that do not respect gender, sexuality, race and physical abilities. Our boutique
philosophy translates into the philosophy of our client work. By branding our client as an entity that refuses to be
marginalized by Fighting Illini Athletics, we will progress into an era where sports with impaired players are
normative and accepted. Currently, they do not have a mission or philosophy statement but with the help of Studio
1867, our client will develop a holistic and inclusive concept behind their image.
The Men’s Wheelchair Basketball team currently is housed in the Disability Resources and Education Services
division of the College of Applied Health Sciences. While our client does not have an option of whether or not to be
housed in that division, we believe that an alliance with the Fighting Illini Athletics would benefit their efforts of
being seeing as a legitimate sport on campus.
5 Summary of Organization
The Illinois Wheelchair Basketball Team is an all-inclusive team who has the desire to garner support from the
UIUC student body in its mission to create awareness about disability sports, their intensity, and their importance to
those who play them. While the terms Wheelchair and Basketball contradict each other at times, the Illinois
Wheelchair Basketball Team has and will continue to bring together a hybrid of the two to create a unique
recreational activity for Illini to play, watch, and support.
The Men’s Wheelchair Basketball team is a unique organization on the University of Illinois campus. Similar to
other Fighting Illini sports teams, they set to entertain the general student body. The main issue with the
organization is that students attending the university do not necessarily know about this team. One fact that has
lead to this lack of knowledge is that Wheelchair Basketball is not classified as a Big Ten sport. The public’s
perception of the Wheelchair Basketball Team is neither good nor bad, but non-existent. They do not realize the
intensity and competitiveness of the sport.
The Illinois Wheelchair Basketball Team was the first university to organize a team of its kind, yet is not a staple
here on campus. The history of the situation directly correlates to the history of the team. Since its introduction to
campus it has received minimal coverage and therefore historically it is not a major component of Illinois sport
culture. However, in the world of adaptive sports the Illinois Wheelchair Basketball team ranks very highly. The
organization is very well-known nationwide in this specific community.
There are a few factors that weigh into the analysis of the internal environment including performance, structure
and impediments. As far as performance, a benefit of this organization is that it offers a unique opportunity for
sports fans and university students. One aspect of structure is the team’s communication resources. Currently, their
communication outlets include Facebook, Twitter and the organizations website. The biggest internal impediment is
that the organization has no full-time staff that is designated to managing their marketing/public relations efforts. It
consequently falls by the wayside.
6 As briefly stated above, the public perception of the Wheelchair Basketball Team is relatively non-existent. The
organization is not visible and not widely used by its publics. There have been efforts to combat these issues by
bringing on more public relations interns.
The external environment this organization works with creates great opportunity for building awareness. The
competition includes other sports teams especially those also fighting for publicity on campus. (i.e. soccer and
softball) There are no opposition groups in the external environment to combat efforts for the team. The
impediments include institutional and financial obstacles keeping the organization from fully succeeding in this
unpredictable market.
7 Situation Analysis
The main obstacle our client results from having limited publicity; the client has yet to brand itself effectively to
students. Upon successfully completing our work, students who are not aware of the Illinois Wheelchair basketball
will not only become aware of their presence but of their success in the realm of wheelchair basketball. The main
cause of the situation comes from our client’s inability to publicize its games and presence on campus. Our client
would like to reach out to more members of its target demographic; this demographic being students on the UIUC
campus who already follow Fighting Illini sports.
The main facts related to this situation include that many students are not aware wheelchair basketball exists and
therefore students are not aware of Illinois even having a wheelchair basketball team. Furthermore, wheelchair
basketball is not noted as a Big Ten sport and that adds to the lack of exposure and importance it has in the
bracket of Illinois sports teams.
Additionally, many individuals in our key public have the wrong impression, or no impression at all, of the
Wheelchair Basketball Team. This is due to several factors such as the team not playing a regular basketball
season; they play 35 games a year and only a few are home games. This makes it difficult to develop a fan base
and following.
The Illinois Wheelchair Basketball Team was the first university to organize a team of its kind, yet is not a staple
here on campus. The history of the situation directly correlates to the history of the team. Since its introduction to
campus it has received minimal coverage and therefore historically it is not a major component of Illinois sport
culture.
The organization’s mission is to give people with physical disabilities the ability to continue participating in intense
physical activity. Not having awareness on the Illinois Wheelchair Basketball team limits not only awareness and
support from campus fans/followers but also limits their ability to reach out to students who could potentially join the
team. In addition, a lack of awareness can be detrimental to any organization, especially a team. The opportunity
the situation has is positive and the potential impact would be an increase in awareness, which can increase
outside funding for the team and allow them to continue their program.
8 Overall, the biggest opportunity is to focus on branding the team/sport as coach Matt Buchi sees it, which is intense
and involved, to create more awareness of the organization to Fighting Illini sports fans.
9 Target Market Analysis
Key Public: UIUC students, ages 18-22, primarily can be labeled as tax dependents, fans of other varsity Fighting
Illini sports that can potentially become fan followers of the Men’s Wheelchair Basketball team.
Our key public at this time can be best described as being a latent public because while we would like to
believe that our public is aware of the sport here on campus, the truth is that they are, mostly, completely
unaware of the sport, its intensity, and its presence on campus. For those who do have some knowledge, it
is minimal. Currently the fraction of the public that is familiar with the Wheelchair Basketball team here at
UIUC is confused as to where to go to obtain the correct information regarding news about the team and the
schedule. This fraction of the public knows the team has a Facebook page, but is not 100% clear on where
to look for further information. As for the remainder of the public, these individuals do not know where to look
to find more information on the existence of the team on campus because one Google Search will not give
them the information they need. In order to reach this public, it is essential that the Illinois Wheelchair
Basketball team make their existence more notable on this campus by increasing their social media
presence as well as taking efforts to work with Illinois Athletics to increase publicity. This public is currently
immersed in the digital age and use a variety of outlets that range from social media accounts such as
Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. When considering where our public is looking for information from the
sports teams they follow, they are primarily relying on organizational media in addition to Facebook.
Current position: The public is either completely unaware or vaguely aware of the team or the sport in general.
Meaning, those that are aware of the sport may not be entirely aware of the intensity and competitiveness of it, but
rather have a misguided perception. Even those who are vaguely aware may not know too well how the sport is
played or a good deal about the team/team members and its presence here on campus.
Desired position: To be seen as another key campus sport in the minds of UIUC students who follow Fighting Illini
athletics as well as to have the intensity of the sport be known in the minds of this key public.
1 0 Strategic Recommendations
Public: University of Illinois students who are already Fighting Illini sport fans.
Goal: To raise awareness of the Illinois Men’s Wheelchair Basketball team on campus.
Objective: Increase attendance to Illinois Men’s Wheelchair Basketball games 25% by September 2015.
Strategy: Create buzz among UIUC students about the Illinois Men’s Wheelchair Basketball team on
campus through the use of interpersonal communication, organizational media, news media, and
advertising/promotional materials.
Tactics:
1. Update current internal media, such as the team’s Twitter, Facebook, website, and DRES page.
a) As of December 10, 2014 –
ü DRES webpage has been updated to reflect this year’s game schedule, social media
handles, sponsors, and the team’s new website
• Team roster is not present
ü Facebook gives no inclination that the team has a Twitter account
• Potentially add Twitter button on Facebook
• Potentially add Donate button on Facebook
ü Twitter page has been updated with team’s website
ü Add story about the creation of the team’s new logo on the team’s website
2. Hold meet and greets at games with the players at other University of Illinois sporting events.
a) It can include challenging the players to a one-on-one arcade-style basketball game.
3. Post videos of game action and in-practice trick plays and shots to YouTube as well current player
bios.
4. Hold interviews with players and coaches about upcoming events, game outcome predictions and the
players themselves.
1 1 5. Create posters to be displayed in sports complexes around campus such as Huff Hall and the State
Farm Center that display the team and their tournament schedule.
6. Visit classrooms in the Recreation, Sports and Tourism department as well as Kinesiology and
Community Health to speak about the Illinois Men’s Wheelchair Basketball Team to inform students
about the organization, promote game attendance and the team.
a) Handouts can be passed out to announce games or promote social media handles
7. Invite Tatyana McFadden, a member of the US Paralympic team, or another member of the team to
speak with UIUC students about adaptive sports especially here at UIUC.
8. Strengthen nonverbal communication, which in this case is the team’s logo. The logo itself perfectly
reflects the team and how they want to show their connection to the Illinois able-bodied basketball
team. However, the logo and its impact could be stronger. The bottom half can be misunderstood by
the audience, in that without prior knowledge, it is not distinguishable as a wheelchair. To make it
more visible/known either of the following methods could be used:
a) Animation of the logo that depicts a wheelchair and a basketball being combined to form the
new Wheelchair Basketball Team’s logo. This animation can be played during games or before
videos the team releases in order to make it more recognizable as well as explain the concept
to the public.
b) Explanation of the new logo and its creation on the team’s website.
1 2 Message Recommendations
Spokesperson: Head Coach of the Men’s Wheelchair Basketball Team, Matt Buchi
Justification of Spokesperson: Since he is the head coach of the basketball team Coach Buchi possesses great
expertise, credentials and connections with the wheelchair basketball program. In addition, he would be likely to
speak out on the organization’s behalf since he continues to be a huge part of it.
Types of Appeals:
• Emotional
o The Illinois Basketball Team consists of men who have undergone a life-changing event or have
never been able to function like other people their age, but continue to compete in a high-activity
sport regardless of the obstacles they may face.
o It appeals to positive emotions because they are overcoming an obstacle in their life and finding a
new outlet to engage in a high-intensity activity or sport
o The emotion is a virtue appeal; the love appeal is compassion; the virtue appeal is social
acceptance
o There is no humor, sex, fear, guilt appeal
•
Rational
o It makes a rational appeal in the sense that the individual has an empathetic nature that is easily
interpreted by the public. The individual’s position of power aids in credibility.
o The message features a conjecture proposition
o The following provide arguments for our claims: audience interest, visual representation, physical
evidence
Primary Verbal Message: The Illinois Wheelchair Basketball Team is an all-inclusive team who has the desire to
garner support from the UIUC student body in its mission to create awareness about disability sports, their
intensity, and their importance to those who play them. While the terms Wheelchair and Basketball contradict each
1 3 other at times, the Illinois Wheelchair Basketball Team has and will continue to bring together a hybrid of the two to
create a unique recreational activity for Illini to play, watch, and support.
Nonverbal Messages: We will use the Illinois Men’s Wheelchair Basketball Team’s logo. The symbol is a basketball
but the bottom portion resembles a wheelchair:
Source: http://www.illinoiswheelchairbasketball.com/
1 4 Schedule
1 5 1 6 1 7 1 8 1 9 2 0 Budget
Our budget items for the proposed tactics were kept to a minimum in order to keep costs low while simultaneously
boosting the organization’s awareness on campus.
Tactic 1 – Internal Media Update:
PR Interns - FREE
Tactic 2 - Meet and Greets:
Arcade-style basketball game for one-on-one challenges with the players
Tactic 3 - Trickshot Videos:
Camera equipment to take video of the players during practice
Video editing software to create final videos for posting
Tactic 4 - Interviews:
Camera equipment to take video of the interviews with the players/coaches
Video editing software to finalize video for posting
Tactic 5 - Posters:
Design applications to produce game posters of the team
Graphic designer to design posters (if applicable)
Printing costs for the 20” X 30” posters in full color
Tactic 6 - Classroom Visits:
Design applications to produce flyers for upcoming games and events
Graphic designer to design flyers (if applicable)
Printing costs for the 4” X 6” flyers in full color
2 1 Tactic 7 - Guest Speaker Tatyana McFadden:
Travel and accommodations for guest
Speaking/Event fee to guest (if applicable)
Tactic 8 - Logo Explanation Video:
Graphic designer to create logo explanation video
Video editing software
2 2 Evaluation Plan
In order to evaluate if our overall goal of raising awareness was achieved it is important to look at social media
activity and tournament attendance.
For us to see if our objective was reached, we need to record attendance at every game and see how the tactics
we implemented have effected that attendance over the course of the 6-month plan we have laid out for the team.
One of the major outlets we will be looking at is social media involvement. For the goal, objectives, strategy, and
tactics we have highlighted it is important to look at the effect they have had on social media activity. Thus, we will
measure social media involvement in the form of Facebook likes (both of the Illinois wheelchair Basketball page
itself as well as on posts), Twitter follows and retweets, and, once implemented, YouTube views and shares.
In combination with attendance at games, we can evaluate how our goal to increase awareness of the team on
campus succeeded or failed.
A subset of our PR plan is to kill the misconceptions our public may have regarding the sport of Wheelchair
Basketball. We hope that by raising awareness and increasing attendance at tournaments, the irrefutable intensity
and validity of the sport will be translated to the audience and to our desired public to create a loyal following as is
seen for the able-bodied basketball team.
2 3 Consultant Biographies
Angelica Gal
Contact: gal2@illinois.edu
My name is Angelica Gal and I am a senior in Advertising. I am currently the Director of Art +
Design for TEDxUIUC as well as the Social Media Coordinator for Illini Fighting Hunger. The
majority of my time spent volunteering with Illini Fighting Hunger includes facilitating packaging
events, helping out every month with the Wesley Evening Food Pantry, and maintaining their
social media presence. My work with Illini Fighting Hunger has allowed me to continue doing
volunteer work on campus while also using all I have learned while pursuing my Bachelor's in
Advertising to help the organization better reach out to its publics. I have recently joined the
TEDxUIUC team and with that, I have been given the opportunity to work on more creative design
projects, which is the area I will most likely end up pursing career wise. My hope is to combine
my love for design and volunteering to work in the non-profit sector post graduation.
Bridget Poetker
Contact: bpoetke2@illinois.edu
My name is Bridget Poetker and I am a senior majoring in Advertising at the University of Illinois
at Urbana-Champaign. I am pursuing a Public Relations Certificate from Illinois as well. I have
been involved on campus primarily through the American Advertising Chapter and the Illinois
Women’s Fastpitch Softball Club. I believe it is important to further my academic career and my
athletic career. I am a big advocate for club sports because it is a way for students to get out of
the books for a bit and get out on the field. Organizations like this create well rounded students
and in the end are better off because of the competitive nature. I believe that it will help me in my
future career endeavors. Upon graduating in May, I plan to start a career that can link these two
passions of mine.
2 4 Elizabeth Morales
Contact: emorals2@illinois.edu
My name is Elizabeth Morales and I am a senior majoring in Advertising and minoring in Latino/a
Studies at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. My concentration in advertising is
multicultural account planning. This is manifested in my role as VP of Diversity at the Illinois
chapter of the American Advertising Federation. As VP of Diversity, my goal is to foster an
inclusive environment for the AAF executive board and general AAF members. The University of
Illinois is home to over 40,000 students from a variety of different background and experiences
and therefore marketing and public relations efforts must take into consideration the uniqueness
of these individuals’ intersectional identities. While my academic background is primarily in both
Latin American and Caribbean Studies and Latino/a Studies, I believe an understanding the
experiences of diverse consumers will aid in creating advertising that denounce stereotypes and
bring ethical and effective representation of marginalized communities. My collegiate curriculum
in African-American Studies, Latino/a Studies and Latin-American and Caribbean Studies has not
only granted me the ability to analyze and challenge the concept of what is “multiculturalism” but
it has also allowed me to comprehend how factors such as gender, sexuality, socio-economic
and physical aptitudes are key in producing ethical and respectful campaigns.
2 5 Haley Hahn
Contact: hjhahn2@illinois.edu
My name is Haley Hahn and I am a junior pursuing my Bachelor of Science in Advertising. In
addition, I am working towards a minor in Communications, a minor in Sociology and my
certificate in Public Relations. Since my freshman year, I have been a member of the American
Advertising Federation (AAF). My first year, I was a part of the National Student Advertising
Competition (NSAC) under AAF. NSAC was a year-long project that consisted of 62 UIUC
students who worked together to create a fully integrated marketing campaign for the client
Glidden Paint to help raise low brand awareness with their Glidden Brilliance Paint line as well as
increase sales at Walmart stores. For the first semester, I worked with a six-person research
team to research the brand, competitors and the target audience to create strategy. For the
second semester, I was a part of a ten-person team who worked to create a digital plan for the
brand. Overall, our team received second place out of 22 teams at the regional competition, a
huge accomplishment. For my sophomore year and current year (junior), I have been a member
of CTRL+V Interactive under AAF. CTRL+V deals with production, web/app and public relations.
My sophomore year I took part in the production area where I worked with a team in video
production and editing mainly dealing with on campus events and local clientele. One project I
took part in was assisting in filming and editing the College of Media’s Student Spotlight
candidates. This year I take part in the web/app team where we work with teams to create
websites for local businesses and RSO’s on campus through WordPress. This year I also
became a part of the mentor/mentee program where I provide guidance to newcomers in the
College of Media through providing my own knowledge and experience within the Advertising
field. Through this program I have developed leadership skills through proactive interaction and
communication with my mentee.
2 6